Renowned rap artist Sage Francis for Cœirt performance

Hip hop artist Sage Francis plays the Róisín Dubh on Saturday, April 16 as part of this year’s Cúirt Festival of Literature. Dubbed as a ‘forefather of indie-hop’, he first made a name for himself in the emcee battle circuit during the late 90s and early 2000s while distributing his Sick of Waiting mixtape series hand-to-hand. Within a a few years he graduated from bootlegging his own music to being one of the top selling independent artists in hip-hop, all while heading up Strange Famous Records in his home city of Providence, Rhode Island.

Setting aside the more boastful side of rap, Francis quickly became recognised for the poetic leanings and scathing socio-political commentary in his lyrics. His debut album, Personal Journals, was heralded as both an artistic masterpiece and a genre game changer. The risks taken in his music and business approach, through the course of five commercial album releases, have helped Francis stay a few steps ahead of the game, utilising the internet to cut out unnecessary middlemen. He is also part of the contemporary spoken word movement, performing often at poetry events.

The Sage Francis show is a major coup for the Cúirt Festival and fans of dexterous wordplay should not miss this show.

The show is part of a brilliant weekend of hip-hop at the Róisín. On Friday 15, April 15, Canadian rapping legend Buck 65 plays the Dominick Street venue, also as part of the Cúirt programme.

Tickets for Sage Francis are €24/€22 members; Buck 65’s show is €18/€16. But a double ticket is available at a special price €30. To see either of these rappers would make your year. The chance to see them both in one weekend is tantalising.